Goodwill's Rewind record store opens in North Carolina on September 4

Rewind, believed to be among the first Goodwill-branded record stores anywhere, opens on September 4 in Matthews, North Carolina. Think of it as the chain's resale model pointed at music instead of donated clothing.

The store is run by Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, whose territory covers Charlotte and the towns around it; Matthews sits roughly 10 miles southeast of the city. The same group operates GW: A Goodwill Boutique, a name-brand and designer clothing store, so a narrowed, single-category shop is not new to it.

Joy Elmore, the organization's public relations and communications manager, told Loudwire that Rewind's inventory will look like what you would find in a typical record store: vinyl, CDs, DVDs and cassette tapes. She added that there may also be music-themed apparel, collectibles, vintage audio equipment, game systems, boom boxes, turntables and record players.

The floor is more than shelves. Retro arcade games will be playable, and a dedicated listening room lets shoppers hear a record before they decide on it. Elmore said there is no real target audience for Rewind and that it will carry titles from a wide variety of genres.

Goodwill has sold used music at several of its locations for years, with the obvious limit that stock arrives by donation and competes with independent shops and online resale. The Matthews site is already operating as a donation center ahead of opening day. It joins a small run of businesses betting on physical music, including Phoebe Bridgers' record store shows and a new dance music shop in Birmingham, at a moment when even AI songs are being pressed to 12-inch vinyl.